Independence Day is a hidden gem. Like, when you're a little kid in grade school and your teacher asks the class what their favorite holiday is, no one ever says the Fourth of July. They're totally missing out.

I can sum up the holiday in just one word:  awesome.   Let me explain:

First things first, there are literally hot dogs (or tofu dogs!!) and hamburgers, like, everywhere. I'm not even sure you can even escape the smell of them if you wanted to. So you know what they say- if you can't beat 'em join 'em. Have 10.

Second- the beloved college-party theme "AMURRICA" is literally everywhere, and it's great. Nothing I love more than tee shirts with American flags and various forms of stars and stripes running around aimlessly with cold beers in one hand and hot dogs in the other.

Third- At night time the sky is literally covered in fireworks  glitter. And everyone is just quiet for like, 15 minutes, all looking at the same thing- all feeling the same emotion:  Gotta get a pic for Instagram and caption it with Katy Perry "Firework" lyrics.

Plus, it's the only summer holiday that gets everyone out of work to actually run around in the hot weather that we complain about all summer long. This day is made for grills, cold drinks and some form of pool. Don't have a pool- channel your inner kid and run through a sprinkler or start up a water balloon fight. You'll only look silly for like, 2 minutes but it's worth it I promise.

Looking for some Fourth of July Fashion? No worries, I got you.



Looking for some Fourth of July party tunes? No worries, I got you again.

1. Gold Trans Am - Ke$ha 
2. Party in the U.S.A - Miley Cyrus 
3. American Girl - Bonnie McKee
4. National Anthem - Lana Del Rey
5. Party & Bullsh*t - Rita Ora 
6. Toes - Zac Brown Band
7. Made In the USA - Demi Lovato

An ending can easily make or break a book for me. Even if it's in a series, your ending needs to be solid for me to be satisfied. The Fever by Megan Abbott has an interesting plot- Teen girls in a small town plagued with a mysterious illness, and they're dropping like flies. Speculations of the cause of the illness range from the town's toxic lake to demonic possession to a hybrid STD to a bad batch of the HPV vaccine.

The book often switches between the main characters, focusing on their different experiences and their personal attachment to the situation at hand. It goes from a parent's point of view, to an older brother's, to a best friend's without any strong voice or shift of events. It can get confusing, and even frustrating at times, but in the end it somewhat comes together and somewhat makes sense. Somewhat.

Abbott writes with a dream-like flow, using flashbacks and metaphors that read almost like poetry. Sometimes, it's hard to understand exactly why some parts were included, as they prove pointless to the plot of the story. Almost like fluff to fill the pages and distract you from the bigger picture. You want to believe all of the sidetracking relates to a bigger picture, but ultimately, it doesn't.

The book will stick with you, at least for a little while. It will make you question society. Are the vaccines we inject into our bodies actually harming us? Should we be more mindful of our water systems? But it won't prevail with a grand, ecological or life-changing ending:

See ahead if you wanna ruin it for yourself, if not and you want to read the book, mind that it's a slow first 100 pages, and then you can't put it down til the end. The end is a surprise, yes, but you almost wish that it was something else. I'd recommend it for someone who is looking for a book to pass the time, but I wouldn't immediately put it on my list of Top 10 recommendations. And that's all I'm gonna say. XO


WARNING:  SPOILERS 

Okay if you're anything like me, I already know you read past the WARNING: SPOILERS heading. So I'm going to try to keep the spoilers to a minimum.

The book comes short at the ending- not all questions answered. And not in a good way. Or thoughtful way. It feels like just a blatant laziness on Abbott's part.

While in the book it notes that many girls come into the hospital with the symptoms of this illness- only one received a diagnosis. A diagnosis that was only pertaining to her (what someone did to her), and none of the other girls. The most disturbing case being Kim, who posted videos on YouTube from inside the hospital describing the sickness- something in her throat, trying to get out- providing a mental vision of what looks like the poor little girl from The Exorcist. That's a pretty big image to leave me with, Abbott, with no hope, relief or explanation for this girl.

Okay, Now this is a BIG SPOILER. So, seriously, don't read unless you want to ruin everything for yourself. 

Another issue I have is with the Gabby/Eli situation. Eli never has a final word- never mentions if he did, in fact, feel about Gabby. Not before, not after the event. Both Deenie nor Eli not Tom speak their feelings towards Gabby's trial. And it's frustrating to me, because apparently that's what the whole book is about. Gabby's insane love for Eli, Deenie's brother and Tom's son. So you see, that's a pretty big string to leave untied. I don't even really care what happens to Gabby in the trial, in the end, or for the rest of her life. Do I hope she gets an Orange Is the New Black style spin-off. Kind of. But what I really need to know is how the main character freaking feel about it.

The other thing that bothers me is the fact that no one's doing anything about the lake. The lake- where the lady in the rain coat shows Deenie a glowing orange fungus, collected from the shore of the lake. The lake "wasn't the cause," but no one seems to give a fuck about the glowing orange, acidic, black-muck filled lake. The lake, who's water goes into everything in the town. I can't.

I can think of a lot of words to describe this book:  haunting, twisted, chilling, gut-wrenching, beautiful.

One of these things is not like the other.

Let me start off by saying that Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a book you need to set aside a full day to read. Why? Because it will absolutely consume your emotions and thoughts until you finish it.

Here's some background so you actually have some idea of what I'm talking about:

The main character, Hannah Baker, commits suicide before the book even starts. When the school's "good boy" Clay Jensen discovers a package filled with cassette tapes on his front doorstep, he is startled by hearing Hannah's voice on the tapes. Hannah explains that a list of people all played a rather large role in the story of her suicide, and the tapes must be passed down through the list of people to avoid getting their dark deeds released to the town: their actions that convinced Hannah it was time to end her life. Throughout seven tapes she tells the story of the thirteen people on the list. How they hurt her, how it affected her or how selfishness and ignorance can never goes unnoticed.

It's rumored that Logan Lerman will be playing Clay Jensen and Selena Gomez will be playing Hannah Baker in the movie version of this story. Normally, I hate picturing actors as I read. I feel like it takes something away from the story for me. But in this case, it only made it better for me. Because it was better not to pretend like this could be any sort of real. Also, they're both absolutely perfect for their respective characters. LOVE YOU, SELENA.

The chilling part of this book is, it's hard not to relate to Hannah Baker. Which sounds like a terrible thing to say. She creeps into your memories somehow, reminding you of every time someone started a rumor about you- and every time someone believed it. It reminds you of every boy who didn't ask you to slow dance in middle school, or every high school boy who made fun of you before you discovered make-up. It reminds you of every bad high school party you went to just to look cool, even though you didn't really want to go. But worst of all, it reminds you of how you may have treated other people.

This book, after all of the dark, twisted, haunting memories it pulls out of you, bring something beautiful to its readers by the end:  A chance to change. To be aware of how you treat people and be aware of someone who's extending a hand to help. I like that this book reminds you that the simplest things (like words) can be a weapon and the simplest things (like listening) can heal.

I once read a quote (probably on Tumblr, Forgive Me!!!) that read, "Be kind, everyone you meet is facing a hard battle." I never knew who this applied to:  rape victims? anorexia? abusive parents? I didn't know- my mind immediately went to like, a thousand Law and Order: Special Victims Unit scenarios. But it says it right there in the quote:  it applies to everyone.

Hannah Baker was no different than the girl who sat next to you in 11th grade English class. She's no different than the girl who crossed the street a 10 a.m. this morning to buy a bagel. She was a normal girl who got knocked down too many times to get up one more. A feeling we've had - some, more often than we'd like to admit to ourselves. Listening to someone can change someone's life- in this case, may even keep someone's life, even if it was just a fictional character. It's gut-wrenching to think that your actions toward someone could make or break that person.

Bottom line is, this books destroys you. And while this book should definitely be on your reading list this summer, you probably shouldn't bring it to the beach or anywhere where anyone around you is smiling.

I need to go eat some ice cream and literally hug everyone I come into contact with bye.

If someone threw this book at your face, poked you in the eye and broke your nose, it still wouldn't hurt as much as this story.

It's not often that you can come across a story so magnificent, and beautifully imagined and written. It's not often that a book consumes you so intensely that you might actually lose your mind if you don't finish it as quickly as possible. And it's not often that you feel that hunger to read the book again for any missed words, any missed elements to the story- and maybe even a hope for a different ending.

Without ruining too much of the ending, or any part of the story at all, the love between Hazel and Augustus is one that would put any Nicholas Sparks book (or movie) to shame.. or in that matter, any book/movie that involves a certain vampire/wolf scenario to shame. What I'm saying is, this one is different.

It's so important to me that books like this be written- ones where love is portrayed as caring for someone so much more than you care about yourself. Where love is shown in selflessness instead of obsession, and where romance isn't chasing desperately after someone- it's wanting the absolute best for someone else. It's also important that love isn't about how beautiful or skinny a woman is- Augustus loved Hazel for her mind, her humor, her wit- something that all women should cultivate and something all men should cherish in a woman. It's important that this book became such a fad, because women and men should all be taught this different perception and expectation of what exactly love is. (aka it's not a Taylor Swift song about a scarf that reminds him of you.. love you tho t.swift.)

Enough tho.

The point is: Read this book. Cry over this book. Cry some more. Let it tear you apart. Then carry it with you where ever you go in life and in love.

Bye.